Niall The Leprechaun and His Marvelous Adventures
by Zau3
Summary: Niall the Leprechaun embarks on a new adventure, along with his new-found friends, Louis the Rabbit, Harry the Cat, Liam the Turtle, and Zayn the Elf. Together, they battle evil monsters lurking in dark woods, and defeat monsters that haunt the X-Castle, all while become closer than they would have ever thought possible. All of these are my original characters. Weird, right?
1. Chapter 1

Once upon a time, there was a wee little leprechaun named Niall. He had soft, fluffy hair the color of wheat, and sparkly blue eyes that always shone with laughter. Niall enjoyed walking around the green pastures of Ragnilum, a small leprechaun village in the country of D'naleri. He would often stop by a nice, billowy tree and play his small guitar, humming softly.

He was doing just this, when he heard a faint noise. _Pssst._ He stopped playing, and looked around curiously. _Pssst. _There it was again. Niall blinked his blue eyes in confusion.

What could be making that odd noise?

Niall stood up to investigate, taking his guitar with him. He followed the noise all the way down to the muddy banks of the Eno Doitcerid River. The noise continued, seemingly forever. Niall sighed sadly, sat down, grabbing a carrot from the ground beside him, and taking a huge bite out of it, not bothering to wash the dirt off.

"Guess what I am!" Came a small, high-pitched voice. Niall whirled around, looking into a small rabbit hole beside him.

"W-What?" he asked shakily.

Two large, tan ears popped out of the hole, along with a pair of blue-green eyes, and a small pink nose. "I'm a song!" The squeaky voice continued, cracking right in the middle.

Niall's mouth dropped open to form a small '_o_'. "No you're not! You're a rabbit!"

"_No_," the rabbit continued matter-of-factly. "I'm a song. Have you been eating carrots?"

Niall quickly discarded the rest of the carrot under his crossed leg. He had long since learned the hard way _not _to steal a rabbit's carrots. He shook his head quickly. "No, not me."

The rabbit leaned forward, and, almost awkwardly, said, "I like people who eat carrots."

Niall chuckled, as it was in his nature to laugh. "You're an odd rabbit."

He rolled his eyes dramatically. "Well, I'm a talking rabbit. I'm bound to be odd." He took a few steps back to survey Niall. "What's your name?"

Niall stood up, and brushed away a few dirt specks. "Niall. Niall Ranoh. Yourself?"

"Louis Nosnilmot, the Doncaster Rabbit, at your service. Pleasure to meet you! Where you from, Nialler?"

Niall blushed slightly at the nickname. "I'm from Ragnilum, a village not far from here." A sudden thought occurred to him. "Would you like to come back with me? I don't have many friends, they all say I eat too much or laugh too loud. Oh, please, won't you come with me?"

Louis twirled his whiskers, thinking. After a moment, he nodded. The leprechaun jumped excitedly, a smile stretched across his face. Louis held up a finger (to the best that a rabbit could, anyways), quieting Niall's celebration momentarily. "I can only go if we find my friend, Harry. I've been looking for him for ages."

Niall shrugged. "Alright. What does he look like?"

"Well, he's a big Cheshire cat. With green eyes." Louis explained.

Niall looked only slightly surprised. "A cat? Oh, okay." He thought for a moment. "It might be a bit difficult finding him, though. There's lots of big Cheshire cats with green eyes."

"Ah, but that is where Harry is different." Louis said mischievously. "Harry isn't like other cats. He has long, curly hair that sticks out everywhere. You can't miss him."

A cat with curly hair? Never before had Niall seen such a thing. But he was still going to help his new friend the best that he could. "Where did you last see Harry?" Niall asked.

Louis thought before answering. "The edge of the woods. He was speaking to some cougar about a good time." Louis winked suggestively.

Niall's eyes were wide and innocent. Louis chuckled inwardly at the leprechaun's naivety, but didn't explain any further.

"So, he was by the woods? Then I guess we'll just start there. Do you know where this cougar lives?"

Louis scratched his ear. "To the northeast, I think."

Then the two set out on their adventure, not really knowing where they were going, or the dangers ahead of them.

_To be continued._


	2. Chapter 2

Niall glanced around the gloomy forest, searching for any signs of a Cheshire cat. Louis hopped along beside him, mirroring the leprechaun's investigative look. Niall brushed against a leaf, and relaxed. The serene setting of nature always calmed him.

They walked for awhile in silence, no sounds but the occasional tweet of a nearby bird to fill the empty air. "So, Louis," Niall began, hating the quiet. "Where are you from?"

"Well, I'm a Doncaster rabbit, so as you could guess, I'm from Doncaster." He answered in a chipper tone. "My mum brought me to D'naleri a long time a go, when I was still a tiny little thing." They continued looking for awhile. "So, what about you? From Ragnesium or something?"

Niall laughed, scaring away a few birds. "Ragnilum," he corrected. "It's a little village to the east. Not far from where we met, actually."

Louis nodded. "The elf village, right?"

Niall laughed at the outlandish thought. "No, no, no. It's a leprechaun village. I thought you could tell, elves are much more attractive than us leprechauns."

Louis cocked his head to the side, confused. "I thought you seemed attractive enough."

Niall smiled appreciatively at his long-eared friend. "You seem pretty attractive yourself. For a rabbit, anyways."

Louis twitched his whiskers happily, and said, "I've never had a leprechaun for a friend."

"I've never had a rabbit for a friend, so I guess we're going through the same thing." He paused. "Come to think of it, I've never had many friends at all."

"None? Not even a lady friend?" Louis inquired.

Niall blushed madly, looking at the ground. "Oh, um, no. I go to an all-boys academy. People are nice to me, though. I'm just not very close to them."

Louis sniffed. "Well, now you have, and a rabbit is much better than any leprechaun you'll ever meet, that's for sure! You'll have Harry, too. Once we find him, that is. Oh, what I would give for a carrot right now!"

Niall's face brightened. "I have a carrot in my pocket!" He dug around in his pocket for a moment, before producing a long, orange carrot. He handed it to Louis proudly. Louis made a point of stuffing as much of it as he could in his mouth, before thanking Niall sincerely. "Why do you like carrots so much, Louis?" Niall wondered aloud.

Louis ate the rest of the carrot before answering. "I don't know." he said blankly. "I just really enjoy carrots. I always have."

They were both chuckling over this when a voice called out, "Eh! You, there! What are you doing in the woods?"

They both froze in place as a figure approached them. He was about the size of Niall, but with creamy dark skin, dark brown eyes, and raven hair that was arranged into a neat quiff.

He was clearly an elf.

He finally stopped a few feet in front of Niall. "Hello?" he asked slowly, carefully. "Are you alright?"

Niall finally came to. "Oh, yes, we're fine, just looking for a friend." He said quickly. "We'll just be going now." He was going to walk around the stranger, but was stopped by a steady hand on his chest.

"The woods are no place for a leprechaun and a rabbit. I'll escort you so you don't get hurt." He said, walking ahead of them.

"No, you will not. We are doing just fine on our own, thank you very much." Louis said, sounding annoyed.

The stranger was taken aback. "I am Zayn, of the high elf village Drofdarb, and protector of the weak. I _will _be escorting you to your destination."

Niall just watched in horror at their bantering. Elves terrified him, almost as much as not eating did.

Louis snorted loudly. "'_Protector'_, eh? You look like just a common elf to me. Where is your sword and shield, Mr. Protector? Where is your mail and armor?"

Zayn blinked several times, looking uncomfortable. "Well, ah, it's- It's-"

"You aren't a protector, are you?" Niall cut off his stammering.

Zayn gave a defeated sigh. "No, no I am not. I'm just a normal elf. I'll never be a protector. I'm sorry to have wasted your time." He sounded utterly hopeless, and was about to walk away when Niall stopped him.

"You should join us! It's always better to travel in groups." He smiled at Zayn.

Zayn's eyes brightened considerably. "Really?"

"Yes, yes, of course. But enough of that 'protector' business. Just be Zayn the Elf from now on, okay?" Louis said to Zayn. He suddenly looked puzzled. "Why _do _you act like such a big-shot, Zayn?"

Zayn looked down, shuffling his feet. "Well, there's this girl, in my village, named Maura. She said she'll only love someone who is brave and dashing. So I decided to try out my luck as being a protector. I guess I still need some practice.." He trailed off, and looked up at Niall and Louis. "Do _you _think I'm brave and dashing?"

The both nodded seriously. "I was terrified for a moment there when you first came up to us. Truly." Niall said, his eyes wide.

The elf smiled proudly, walking over to stand beside Louis. "So, vas happenin' with you two? Where's your friend?"

Niall shrugged. "We don't know. He's a big, curly haired Cheshire cat with green eyes. He was with a cougar when Louis here last saw him." He shook his head, as if to clear it. "I'm sorry, I haven't even introduced myself. I'm Niall, and this is Louis." He gestured to his friend.

"I'm Zayn, but you already know that." Zayn smiled at the laugh he earned from Niall. "Where exactly are we headed to?"

"The cougar's den, to the northeast." Louis answered ominously.

Zayn shuddered. "The northeast, you say? You realize we'll have to pass through the X-Castle, right?"

Niall suddenly looked very worried. "The X-Castle? The castle with the two heart-broken dragons, from the stories?"

Zayn nodded solemnly. "The very one. Eleanor and Danielle, the two dragon demons."

Louis looked unfazed. "Oh, I'm sure we can deal with two lonely dragon ladies. A little bit of chocolate and a good rom-com and they'll be fine."

Zayn and Niall stared at him incredulously. "What?" he asked them blankly.

"Erm, nothing. Let's get a move on, then. We must find Harry!" Zayn said optimistically.

Louis and Niall, inspired by Zayn's convincing tone, followed suit, and marched through the trees fearlessly.


	3. Chapter 3

Niall, Zayn, and Louis all walked side by side, still searching for Harry.

"Louis, can we _please _stop? I'm so hungry, and we've been walking forever!" Niall whined.

Louis gave Niall a look. "We've been walking for an hour, Niall. It's not even eleven o'clock yet." Then, at Niall's pathetic pleas, he stopped. "Fine, we'll rest for a few minutes."

The leprechaun smiled happily, and went to sit down on a large tree root. He then started nibbling on a piece of bread from his pocket, dusting off a few pieces of lint.

_"Whaaaat are yooou dooooooing?" _came a gravelly voice.

Niall jumped up quickly, running to the others. Zayn had heard the odd voice, too. "What was that?" He questioned sharply. "Who goes there?"

_"Whyyyy did yooou siiit on meeee?" _came the voice again. Niall froze, as he realized the direction the voice was coming from. He looked up slowly, straight into the large eyes, mouth, and nose, of a giant tree.

"I-I'm sorry. It won't happen again, promise!" Niall stuttered to the tree.

_"Thaaat wooon't doooo. Now yooou've maaaade me aaaangryy." _The voice almost snarled.

Both Louis and Zayn gasped in horror as the tree started moving its huge, bulky branches down on them. They all stumbled backwards, trying to run, but too shocked to function properly.

"Really now, Philip? Picking on a poor group of travelers? Have you no respect!" A voice snapped, seemingly at the tree.

The branches stopped abruptly, rising back towards the sky. _"Ooooh, nooot yoooou Liaaaam," _he groaned.

A small turtle waddled up to the tree, shaking it's head. "Philip, leave these people alone!"

Philip groaned again, but went completely silent and still. The turtle turned to them. "I'm sorry about that," he apologized sheepishly. "Philip here thinks he's quite terrifying, but he's really just a pile of sticks and leaves." He waddled over to where they all stood, looking up from his shell with a smile. "Hullo, my name is Liam. If you don't mind my asking, what's an odd group like you doing in the woods?"

Zayn gave him a nod of acknowledgment, unable to shake his hand. "Hello, I'm Zayn, and this is Louis and Niall." He gestured to the other two. "We're looking for our friend, Harry. You wouldn't have seen him, would you?"

"I don't know about this 'Harry' fellow, but two cats passed through here last night. Made an awful ruckus, they did. I was calming trees all night!" Liam answered, shaking his head.

"That was him!" Niall exclaimed. "A big curly-haired Cheshire cat and a cougar, right?"

Liam smiled up at him. "Yes, the very same. Looked like they were headed northeast. Don't know why they would want to go that way, though. That's the direction of the X-Castle." He shuddered, his shell shaking slightly.

"I can imagine why," Zayn muttered, too quiet for anyone to hear. Then, louder, "Thank you so much for your help, Liam. We must be heading off now, though."

"Oh, now you're not." Liam said in a stern, almost fatherly, tone. "You're going to have to take me with you. These trees are completely senile, you don't stand a chance."

Louis thought about this for a moment before nodding. "You make a point. You can come, but on of us will have to carry you to save time."

Liam nodded understandingly. "How about I ride on Zayn's hair? It seems steep enough to hold me up." He asked innocently.

Zayn was about to go off on Liam, but Niall interjected him. "That would be splendid!" With that, he picked Liam up gingerly, and sat him right behind Zayn's tall quiff.

"Off we go!" Liam cheered. Zayn, still looking slightly miffed, walked on, pointing his nose slightly up.

They walked for awhile, all sets of eyes trained on their surroundings. A few times trees swayed slightly, but stopped as soon as they saw the turtle atop Zayn's head. After a few more minutes, Liam spoke up. "We'll have to be more careful from here on out. We're nearing the X-Castle, and the cruel guard Nomis is said to patrol the woods around it."

They all walked a little quieter, and lowered their voices to a whisper. "What is that odd shape in the sky?" Niall whispered suddenly, pointing up. All four of them fixed their gaze to the sky above. The shape suddenly turned around and went zooming straight down to where they were standing.

Zayn unsheathed a long, silver sword at the dark shape. But it would prove to be unnecessary, and the shape abruptly fell out of the sky. Louis mumbled something unintelligible, staring at the shape, now crumpled on the ground.

"KEVIN!" he suddenly shrieked, running over to the small form. He had a look of complete horror on his face. He suddenly whirled around to face Zayn. "Why did you do that? He's just a pigeon! He was one of my best friends!" He fell onto all fours, sobbing.

Zayn was speechless, his mouth open slightly, but no words coming out. Niall placed a hand on the elf's shoulder, giving him a sympathetic look. Then he turned to Louis. "Louis, I know that you're hurting, but we really must keep going. These woods can get dangerous if you stand still to long."

Louis looked up at him, his eyes red and puffy. "I-I guess you're right. But, I'm taking Kevin. I can't just leave him here."

Niall nodded, patting Louis on the back gently. "There you go. I'm sure Kevin had a fantastic life, and he wouldn't want you crying over him. He's in a better place."

Louis nodded, wiping a tear from his whiskers. Then, his voice still thick, he turned to face the others. "Zayn, I am not mad at you for Kevin's passing. We all must stick together if we want to find Harry, and leave these woods in one piece. Off we go, then!"

They all followed after their small, but brave, little friend, into the unknown surroundings of the X-Castle woods, not stopping to notice the dark figure that had been following them soundlessly through the trees.


	4. Chapter 4

"Did you hear that?" Louis asked sharply, looking around suspiciously.

Everyone in the group glanced up at him. "What are you talking about, Louis?" Niall asked.

Louis looked around again, and actually _sniffed _the air before turning back to the boys. "Someone's following us. I can smell it."

"What? For how long?" Zayn demanded.

"Long enough for me to not notice at first. There's someone else nearby, though. I'm sure of it." Louis said in a dryly.

"What do we do?" Niall looked worried. "Do we just keep going?"

Zayn put a hand on his shoulder. "Calm down, Niall. We'll be fine. We're going to find this guy, take care of him, and find Harry. There's not a thing for you to worry about."

Niall relaxed a bit, and directed his attention to Louis, who was now speaking to thin air. "I know you're over there, so you might as well come out," he said, almost tauntingly. There was a rustle of leaves, then a tall figure walked through the bushes. He wore bright silver mail and armor, a sword sheathed at his side, and a helmet in his hand.

"I am Nomis, guard of the X-Castle." He spoke slowly, his head held high. "I've come to ask for your assistance."

They all just gave him the same bewildered stare.

He shifted, looking awkward and uncomfortable. "What is it, then? Why are you staring at me like that?"

That was when Niall decided to burst into hysterical laughs, falling to the ground, clutching his sides desperately. The other three stared at him for a moment, before chuckling, and eventually having laughing fits of their own. Nomis watched then, looking shocked and slightly worried.

"What the devil are you laughing at?" He demanded of them.

Niall wiped a tear from his eye. "Y-You! The-The guard of t-the X-Castle! Need _our_ help?" He panted, still shaking with the remains of laughter.

Nomis looked perplexed. "Well, yes. Why is that so funny?"

Louis sat up next to Niall. "Because! You're known for your eternal wrath and undying hatred. Yet you ask a sorry group of boys like us for help? Why? We just don't understand."

The rest of the boys sat up alongside them, curious as to what Nomis had to say.

He gave the boys look mixed with determination and pride. Maybe a bit of arrogance. But mostly determination. "I know that you four have great potential; potential that will be needed soon. You see," he leaned forward, looking all of them in the eye, "I want you to defeat Queen Caroline."

"Who's she?" Liam asked, giving Nomis a skeptical look.

Nomis pressed his mouth into a hard line. "She's the great Serpent Queen, ruler of both Danielle and Eleanor, the dragon demons. You'll have to defeat her to get your friend back."

"_We'll have to do what?_" Liam gasped. "Defeat her? Why do we have to defeat her?"

"Because she has your friend." Nomis explained simply. "She has spies working everywhere. Spies who bring in young, unsuspecting lads for her to eat for dinner."

There was a sharp intake from the group. "You mean... She'll eat H-Harry?" Louis asked, his voice trembling, along with his lower lip.

Nomis's nod was all the approval he needed.

"Then, we'll just have to save him, and defeat Queen Caroline." Zayn said firmly. "We can do it lads! We just have to think positive."

Liam took a deep breath, and nodded. "We can do this. We just have to be smart about it. How do we defeat her, Nomis?"

"There's an ancient device in the X-Castle. It's the ultimate test. No one even knows what it looks like or how it works, but those who a true of heart will know just what to do when in its midst. If you can make this device work, then Caroline and her demons will be destroyed."

They all stood up, a bold look in their eyes. "Thank you, Nomis, for your help." Louis said, slipping a beanie over his ears.

"What are you doing?" Niall asked incredulously.

"Putting my hat the hell does it look like." Louis slipped the hat off then sending a shower of dust over everybody.

After a short coughing session, the four boys all said their goodbye's to Nimos, and turned to face the tall trees lining the outer walls of the X-Castle.

"You know we might not make it out." Niall mumbled.

Liam looked at him, twisting his neck to look at the leprechaun full on. "Then at least we go in together."

They all took a calming breath, and marched forward.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: **_Lol I have barely revised/edited this story so sorry for any weird run-ons or fragments._

_Another thing: Um. Um. I'm sorry for dying. I got in a.. ALLIGATOR ACCIDENT. Yeah. Yeah that's good. An alligator attacked me and only ate my laptop. Sick bastard. _

_Anyways, Last chapter. :3 It's been fun writing this, even if it's short. I hope you all like the ending. :3_

_Enjoy!  
_

_-Zoe  
_

The X-Castle loomed before them, tall, dark, and ominous. They all gulped, readying themselves. Sharing a look, the marched forward, past the stone gate that had long since collapsed. The rocks crumbled with a small _crunch _under there feet.

Louis peered around, his whiskers twitching intuitively. "It seems safe enough out here.. I think the real challenge is awaiting us inside, boys." He said knowingly.

Niall bit his lip nervously, but quickly buried his fears. "Well, you ready lads? I got me self a Serpent Queen to slay."

Zayn fixed his hair, and strode ahead of the other boys, his sword raised high. "We ride!"

And so the boys walked forward, through the castle doors, and into

Queen Caroline's main hall.

"We've come for Harry, and to defeat the evil Queen Caroline!" Liam roared from atop Zayn's quiff.

A slow, high pitched chuck echoed across the massive room. The group froze in place, looking up into the harsh eyes of the Serpent Queen. She had tight, shiny skin, tinged green. Her hair fell in dirty, limp clumps around her face, and the cruel sneer stretching her cheeks showed nothing but malice. "Did you now?"

Louis lost all fear, and instead charged forward, waving a carrot at Caroline.

"Louis! No!" A small voice yelled from across the room. Niall turned to see a big, curly haired Cheshire cat looking up in fear at the brave rabbit. He scampered over to him, scooping him up with a sudden burst of stength, and ran back to the others.

"You're safe now, Harry." Niall said with a large smile.

"Do I know you?" Harry asked, raising a large, curly brow.

"Well, no, I'm Ni-"

"You're from Club Shamrock, right? I remember you," Harry interrupted with a cheeky grin. "Quite, ah... Quite the dancer."

Niall turned a bright shade of crimson. "N-no! I'm Niall. Hullo."

Harry's green eyes widened. "Oh. Well then. Must've... Must've been a different lad.." He trailed off awkwardly.

"HELLO!" Louis screamed from his position by Caroline. "If you two are done catching up, I could use some help."

"Oh! Right!" Niall rushed, going over to Zayn, to whisper in his ear, "You look for the device, I'll try to distract Eleanor and Danielle."

Zayn nodded a yes, before walking away, Liam scanning the room with small, intelligent eyes.

Meanwhile, at the sight of Eleanor and Danielle, Niall and Harry got into a fighting stance.

"Hello, little leprechaun," Danielle hissed.

"What a cute kitty," Eleanor cooed.

Harry relaxed instantly, a charming smile flashing on his face. "Well, I _am_ pretty cute-"

"Harry!" Niall snapped.

"Sorry about this love," Harry quickly apologized, and launched himself at Eleanor, claws raised. She shrieked, falling backwards, the cat still firmly attached to her face.

"No! No! Not the face!" Her arms flailed about wildly.

"Eleanor!" Danielle turned to her comrade. Niall took this as an opportunity, and leaped onto Danielle.

While all this had been happening, Zayn and Liam were scurrying around the castle in search of the ancient device.

"We've been searching for _ages._" Zayn sighed, exasperated. "I don't think we'll be able to find it, Liam."

Liam reached down to smack Zayn with his fin. "Of course we'll find it! Don't doubt yourself, Zayn, we _will _find it and defeat Queen Caroline!"

"Alright, it's just- Oui! Liam, what is that over there?" Zayn questioned, pointing to a nearby corner.

"I... I think that's it, Zayn! We've found the ancient device!" Liam shouted joyously.

Indeed they had. As they got closer, they became even more sure that it was the ancient device. It was long, made of what resembled gold. It had several buttons and triggers attached to it, all glowing blue. In fact, it looked like..

"A ray gun." Zayn said, dumbstruck. "Is it just me, or does this look like a ray gun?"

"It does, but who cares? We've found the ancient device! Let's go help the others, and quick!"

They rushed back to the main hall as fast and they could, but were too late. Louis, Niall, and Harry all sat together in the center of the room, battered and bruised, tied together with a thick piece of sea rope.

Caroline laughed devilishly. "Come to join your friends, silly elf? You should have known better than to come up against me! None of the heroes of the past have defeated me, and neither shall you! Prepare to be destroyed!"

"No, Caroline! It is _you_ who shall be destroyed!" Liam shot back, as Zayn pulled up the gun, and shot a ray of rainbow sparkles, right at Caroline's forehead.

She let out a horrid scream of pain, falling to her knees, and errupting into dust.

Eleanor and Danielle shared a look of terror, backing up to run away, only to shrivel and explode, just as Caroline had.

Zayn dropped the gun, and ran to the others, quickly breaking their binds with his sword. They all stood up, panting.

Louis jumped on Harry immediately. They both crashed to the ground again. "Oh, Hazza!" Louis cried.

"What is it, Lou?" Harry asked, patting the shaking rabbit on the back.

"Harry, I was so worried about you! You just disappeared!" Louis smacked Harry's shoulder.

"Aw, I'm sorry Lou. I didn't mean to worry you. Really," Harry apologized, his eyes looking sad.

Louis crossed his arms, looking down from the tip of his nose. "Well.. Alright. I guess I'll forgive you this once."

"Thanks, Lou." Harry smiled, grabbing Louis' hand, and walking back to the others.

Liam coughed, looking at all the other boys, and said, "Come on then, lads. Let's go home.

They were walking away from the castle, back into the woods, which weren't nearly as scary as before, when they heard voices behind them, calling after them.

They all spun around. Three tall, beautiful women were running towards them, their hair flying in the wind.

"Oh, brave, kind rabbit!" One said, scooping Louis up into a tight hug. "Oh, thank you so much for saving us!"

"Saving you?" Louis sputtered, confused with the sudden embrace. "From what?"

"From the wicked sea curse! I'm Eleanor! That's Danielle and Caroline" She gestured to a girl with long, curly hair, and kissed Louis on the nose. "When you defeated Caroline, you released us all from the curse!"

Danielle strode over to a surprised Zayn, and picked up Liam delicately. "And where would we be without the heroic turtle, Liam!" She pressed her lips to the turtle's head.

"Well, it was really no problem," Liam blushed, looking down.

"I would just like to thank you all," Caroline said, stepping forward. "For saving us. I've been under that curse for many a decade, and I'm so thankful for your bravery." She smiled wistfully, and returned to the castle.

"Where are you going?" Harry called to her.

She turned back to him. "I have a castle to look after, Harry." She smiled at Nomis as he came and stood beside her. "And I'm far too old for you, anyways."

Harry suddenly looked bashful, and became very interested in the trees.

Eleanor and Danielle looked at the odd group. "Promise to come and visit sometime?" Eleanor asked, smiling beatifically.

Louis grinned, his whisker twitching. "Anything for a lady.

Liam nipped at Danielle's hand gently. "It would be an honor."

They all said their farewells, and the boys turned to the forest again. Interlocking their hands, squeezing reassuringly, and taking a deep breath, they walked through the trees, past the chirping birds and animals. Past their fears and doubts, past their friendless days and nights.

They walked out of the trees, united with friendship.


End file.
